Developer committed to bringing hotel and conference centre to Midland

The developer behind the new hotel and conference centre proposed for Highway 12 in Midland is fully committed to seeing the project through.

David Colagiacomo, who co-owns Tripar Improvements with his father and uncle, addressed council during an April 17 public meeting.

“Our company has been around for 45 years. It was passed down from my grandfather,” said Colagiacomo. “We have built over 30 buildings. We are very proud of our work.”

The Coland Development Corporation — a subsidiary of Tripar — has applied to build a five-storey, 93-unit hotel and conference centre on 1.96 hectares of land off Highway 12, west of the Southern Georgian Bay OPP detachment.

Coland Development owns approximately 5.9-hectares of land off Highway 12 west of Beamish Road; however, the majority of the site (3.93-hectares) is not the subject of the current site plan.

A detailed project plan was submitted to the Town of Midland. The hotel, a Holiday Inn, will have a total gross floor area of 67,007 square feet and stand 62 feet (19 metres) tall.

The conference centre will be 26,870 square feet and have a capacity for approximately 500 people. A parking lot with 329 spaces will separate the two buildings.

“I know there is a need for an events centre here. Accommodations are also an issue in the summer months,” said Colagiacomo.

A public meeting was held during the April 17 council meeting, as several zoning changes needed to be made to allow the development to proceed as proposed.

Current zoning on the property doesn’t allow for a hotel — it also caps building height at 36 feet (11 metres). The developer was looking for exceptions to be made and the land to be rezoned.

No residents spoke out for or against the development. However, questions were raised about the development company itself.

“Rest assured, if this is approved this will be something the town will be very proud of and citizens of this town will be very proud of,” said Colagiacomo. “I would like to see this development through to completion.”

Colagiacomo noted that he owns property at 710 and 783 Balm Beach Road, and is currently in talks with the town about future developments.